Samsung Makes Bid for SanDiskBy
Mike Pasini, The Imaging Resource
(Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 13:33 EDT)SanDisk calls the offer "opportunisitically timed."The New York Times is reporting today that Samsung Electronics has made an unsolicited $5.85 billion cash offer for SanDisk, the flash memory card manufacturer.

According to the article, Samsung's offer of $26 a share was first made in August and only revealed to investors after the U.S. market closed Tuesday with SanDisk trading at $15.04. In after-hours trading, shares rose to nearly $23 a share as news of the proposal spread.

In an earlier Sept. 5 statement, the company had acknowledged, "SanDisk periodically has conversations with multiple parties, including Samsung, regarding a variety of potential business opportunities. We evaluate all of these opportunities, but maintain a policy of not commenting on market rumors or speculation."

But in a letter released Tuesday, Eli Harari, SanDisk founder and chief executive, had rejected the offer, claiming it significantly undervalued the company and characterizing it as "opportunistically timed."